Latch



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Filed Dec. l 1945 2 Sheets-Shee. l

v BY www, 'M @we 1 ATTO R N EVS Nw., M, E950 L. TQTH 2,529,748

Filed Dec. l, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I up y Almg@ @le 32* INVENTOR aa/J' 707%/ Patented Nov. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES` PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to devices to fasten swinging sashes of Windows, doors, or the like securely in closed position when desired. One of its objects is to provide a simple and rugged sash fastener, or latch, which will lock so that it cannot be forced open by wind or other pressure exerted upon the sash. Its paramount object is to provide means whereby the opening and the positive closure of the latch may be assured by a lever and cam action, one occasioned by the use of a hooked sash pole when inaccessible positioning of the latch necessitates such actuation.

It frequently happens that swinging sashes, closed by the usual spring action, are fastened so insecurely that blasts of wind or other forces exerted upon the sash occasion the release of the fastening and cause movements of the sash so violent in nature as to cause fracture of the panes of glass. The resultant falling or ying pieces of glass have in some instances caused considerable injury to personnel adjacent to or beneath the fractured panes. The purpose of this improvement is to prevent such occurrences, which it does by manual application of pressure to supplement the normal spring urged closure.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a front view of the latch attached to an open sash swung inwardly from its closed position;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the opened latch and sash taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the latch taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional View of the latch during the operation of closing the sash by use of a window pole;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view through the latch, closed and locked in fastening position by pressure exerted upon the pole. v

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional View of the latc during the initial stage of its opening, before any inward movement of the sash has occurred.

Figures '7 and 8 are vertical sectional views of a modified form of latch during incipient closure and in the closed and locked position respectively.

The latch in its preferred form comprises essentially a casing I0 enclosing the following parts: a block I2 (Fig. 3), a lever I4, a detent I6, and a spring I8. Attached to or integral with the block I2 is a catch 20 which, as shown, projects without the casing in the closed position of the latch and enters and remains within the strike 22 as is illustrated, for example, in Figs.

2 to 6, the block I2 is bifurcated and is also provided with cut-away or slotted portions 24, 25 and 26 through which extend the pivots 28 of lever I4, 2l of spring I8 and 30 of detent I6. This arrangement permits movement of block I2, either upwardly or downwardly, past these pivots. In this form lever I4 is a bent lever having an arm I5 to which a pin I'I is attached. This pin extends into the slots 24 in each side of block I2, as shown particularly in Fig. 3, so as to engage the sides of the slot 24 when lever I4 swings about its pivot 28. Pivot 28 is secured to the two opposing sides of the casing Ill as is seen most clearly in dotted lines in Figure 3. Spring I8,

coiled on pin 2l, presses against the block at the point 32 and thus normally urges block I2 upwardly or outwardly from the casing so as to cause the entrance into and retention of catch 20 in the strike 22.

In this form of invention the detent I6 is also pivoted in the casing-as is seen most clearly in Fig. 3. It engages notches 34 and 36 in lever I4 in certain of its positions, for example as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. Movement and release of detent I6 is caused by impingement of an arm 38 of the detent with either one of the two pins 40 or 42 attached to the block I2. Downward movement of block I2 causes tripping of detent I6 by contact of arm 38 on the pin 40, as is shown for example in Figs. 4 and 6, with the result that the lever I4 and therefore the block I2 can be forced outwardly so as to cause entry of catch 20 into strike 22.

In this form of the invention contact between pin 40 and arm 38 of the detent I6 is occasioned by impingemcnt of catch 20 upon the wall of strike 22 during closure of the sash, which forces block I2 and consequently pin 40 downwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 4 particularly. This release of detent I6 from notch 34 permits further upward movement of lever I4 by pressure exerted thereon through the instrumentality of window closing pole 44 which has a hooked end 46. When the lever I4 is swung to its uppermost position, as in Figure 5, contact between detent I6 and pin 40 ceases; contact with lower pin 42 is thereupon established, thereby forcing the detent.

to enter into notch 36 of lever I4, thus maintaining it in the closed position of the latch as shown in Figure 5.

Since the lever I4 and block I2 are coupled'together by the pin II, pressure exerted upon the lever forcing it upwardly also exerts pressure upwardly or outwardly upon the block I2 through contact between pin I'I and the upper sideof the slot 24. This causes positive movement outwardly or upwardly of block I2, and consequently of catch 2U; so that the latch is positively forced into strike 22 upon closure of the sash, thus insuring that it is securely fastened, and that the latch and lever are held in this position of assured closure through the entrance or" the detent I6 into the notch 36 and the movement of the pin Il to a dead center position above the pivot 28 as shown in Figure 5. The intermediate positions and movements or" the lever, block, detent and spring during closure of the latch are illustrated by Figure 4.

The relative positions of the block, lever, detent and spring at the initial stage of the opening of the latch are those shown in Figure 6. In this position downward pressure exerted upon lever I4 by pole 44 has caused movement of the lever to its lowermost position of the swing and the consequent inward retraction of the block I2 and catch 2li; consequently the sash is then free to swing outwardly and downwardly to the final position shown in Figure 2. This open position of 'the latch and sash is also illustrated, in front view, in Figure 1.

Figure 2 illustrates the first stage of closing the sash and latch. In that movement, upward pressure of pole 44 upon lever I4, as shown in Figure 2, causes the sash to swing inwardly toward the position of closure; for detent I6 holds the lever' I4 in iixed position, so that the entire latch assembly and the sash to which itY is attached can be moved only in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 2 around the hinge (not shown) of the sash. When, by this inward swinging movement, catch 2U contacts with the lower portion of the wall of the strike 22-as shown in Figure 4-the detent I6 is tripped by contact therewith of pin 4 with detent arm 38, thereby releasing the lever from its xed position. Its further upward movement, occasioned by the continued upward pressure of the pole 4I, forces lever I4 and catch 20 into the nal position of locked closure shown in Figure 5. This position is maintained, and cannot be interrupted by pressure upon the sash, because the relative positions of the parts, shown in Figure 5, are maintained by the movement of the pin I'I to dead center position, aided by the contact of the circular portion of the spring I8 with curved end of arm I of lever as shown at the point 48 of Figure 5. It will be noted, however, that the entrance of catch into strike 22 will be assured by manually exerted pressure irrespective oi the functioning of the spring.

Figures 7 and 8 illustrate a modication ofthe invention, which also comprises a casing ica, a block I2a, a lever I 4a, a detent Ia, and a spring I8a. The form and pivoting of lever Ilia. are different in this type of the latch, however; for the lever I4a is here coupled to the block by the pin 50, and has its fulcrum, at the extreme end of the lever, on the pivot 28a, all as shown in Figures 7 and 8. The detent ISa is of the form shown in Figures 7 and 8, and is pivoted in the casing by pivot 30a. The spring I8a in this form presses both against the detent and against the lower portion of the block I2a, urging the latter upwardly.

In the open position of the latch, shown inv 4 and its attached latch causes, however, contact of the uppermost arm of the detent with the wall of the strike at the point 54 (Figure 8).

The approach to that condition is illustrated by Figure 7; and it will be fully attained by the further inward swing of the sash and latch in the direction of the arrow shown in that figure. Contact between detent ISa and strike 22a at point 54 trips the detent and breaks its engagement with projection 52 of the block, and permits urther upward movement of the block, so that the catch enters the strike, eiecting closure of the latch as illustrated in Figure 8.

As contrasted with the other form of invention shown in Figures 1 to 6, the latch of Figures 7 and 8 is not locked in this closed position. It

is locked only in the open position shown in Figure 7 in which the upper arm of detent I6a has ceased contact with the wall of strike 22a. However, positive, forced entrance of catch 20a into strike 22a, and therefore secure fastening of the latch, is assured also by the design of this form of the invention.

While I have illustrated and described in detail certain preferred forms of my invention, it is to be understood that changes may bc made therein and the invention embodied in other structures. I do not, therefore, desire to limit myself to the specific constructions illustrated, but intend to cover my invention broadly in whatever form its principle may be embodied.

I claim:

1. In a latch for swinging sashes of windows or doors, a fastening assembly including a casing, a block sliding in the casing having a catch adapted to engage a strike upon closure of the sash, a lever to actuate the block pivoted in the casing, interengaging members on the lever and block providing a lost motion connection between the lever and block, said interengaging members including spaced abutment walls in the block and an abutment member on the lever of less width than the space between said walls, so constructed and arranged that movement of the lever in one direction will bring the lever abutment member into contact with one of the abutment walls in the block to retract the block in the casing, and movement of the lever in the other direction will bring the abutment member into contact with the other wall in the block, said lever being movable in said second direction far enough to bring said abutment member at least to a position of alignment in the direction of movement of the block with respect to the pivot point of the lever to lock the block in its extended position, said lost motion connection peritting movement of the block independently of the lever when the lever is in an intermediate position.

2. In a latch for swinging sashes of windows or doors, a fastening assembly including a casing, a bl ck sliding in the casing having a catch adapted to engagea strike upon closure of the sash, a lever to actuate the block pivoted in the casing, interengaging members on the lever and block providing a lost motion connection between the lever and block, said interengaging members including spaced abutment walls in the block and an abutment member on the lever of less width than 'the space between said walls, so constructed and' arranged that movement of the lever in one direction will bring the lever abutment member into contact with one of the abutment walls in the block to retract the block in the casing, and movement of the lever in the other direction will bring the abutment member into contact with the other wall in the block, said lever being movable in said second direction far enough to bring said abutment member at least to a position of alignment in the direction of movement of the block with respect to the pivot point of the lever to lock the block in its extended position, said lost motion connection permitting movement of the block independently of the lever when the lever is in an intermediate position, and releasable detent means for holding said lever in said intermediate position.

L3. In a latch for swinging sashes of windows or doors, a fastening assembly including a casing, a block sliding in the casing having a catch adapted to engage a strike upon closure of the sash, a lever to actuate the block pivoted in the casing, interengaging members on the lever and block, said interengaging members comprising a pin on the lever and a slot in the block, said slot having dimensions in the direction of movement of the block greater than the dimensions of the pin so as to provide for a range of movement of the block independently of the pin when the lever is in an intermediate position, said pin engaging one side of the slot so as to retract the block when the lever is swung in one direction, said pin engaging the other side of the slot so as to project the block when the lever is moved in the other direction, and releasable detent means for holding the lever against movement with respect to the casing in an intermediate position of the lever.

4, In a latch for swinging sashes of windows or doors, a fastening assembly including a casing, a block sliding in the casing having a catch adapted to engage a strike upon closure of the sash, a lever to actuate the block pivoted in the casing, interengaging members on the lever and block, said interengaging members comprising a pin on the lever and a slot in the block, said slot having dimensions in the direction of movement of the block greater than the dimensions of the pin so as to provide for range of movement of the block independently of the pin when the lever is in an intermediate position, said pin engaging one side of the slot so as to retract the block when the lever is swung in one direction, said pin engaging the other side of the slot so as to project the block when the lever is moved in the other direction, releasable detent means for holding the lever against movement with respect to the casing in an intermediate position of the lever, and means on the block engaging said releasable detent means to release the same when the block is forced towards it retracted position by engagement of the catch with the strike upon closure of the sash.

5. In a latch for swinging sashes of windows or doors, a fastening assembly including a casing, a block sliding in the casing having a catch adapted to engage a strike upon closure of the sash, a lever to actuate the block pivoted in the casing, said lever and block having interengaging formations providing a lost motion connection between the lever and block, said formations engaging upon movement of the lever in one direction to retract the block, said formations engaging, upon movement of the lever in the other direction through a sufcient distance to take up the lost motion, to advance the block, and a releasable device for holding the lever in an intermediate position in which the block is free to move Without movement of the lever.

6. In a latch for swinging sashes of windows or doors, a fastening assembly including a casing, a block sliding in the casing having a catch adapted to engage a strike upon closure of the sash, a lever to actuate the block pivoted in the casing, said lever and block having interengaging formations providing a lost motion connection between the lever and block, said formations engaging, upon movement of the lever in one direction to retract the block, said formations engaging upon movement of the lever in the other direction through a sufficient distance to take up the lost motion, to advance the block, a releasable device for holding the lever in an intermediate position in which the block is free to move without movement of the lever, and a formation on the block engaging said releasable device and acting to release the same when the block is moved to its retracted position by engagement of the catch with the strike upon closure of the sash.

7. In a latch for swinging sashes of windows or doors, a fastening assembly including a casing, a bifurcated block sliding in the casing having a catch adapted to engage a strike upon closure of the sash, a lever mounted between the bifurcations of the block upon a pivot supported by the sides of the casing, said block having slots in the walls thereof through which the pivotal support for the lever projects, said lever having an arm projecting at an angle to the main body thereof, a formation on said arm projecting into said slots in the block, said slots being of greater dimensions in the direction of movement of the block than the dimensions in the formation on said lever arm so as to permit a range of free movement of the block without movement of the lever, the formation on the lever arm engaging surfaces of the slots in the block when the lever is moved in one direction to cause such movement of the lever to retract the block, said slots also having surfaces engaged by the formation on the lever when the lever is moved in the opposite direction to cause movement of the lever to press the block to an advanced position, a spring urging the block away from its retracted position, a detent pivoted in the casing, and a formation on the lever for engagement with said detent, said detent and formation cooperating to support the lever in an intermediate position, and a formation on the block for engagement with said detent when the block is moved independently of the lever to release said detent from its engagement with the formation on the lever.

LOUIS TOTH.'

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 316,285 McKeen Apr. 21, 1885 351,575 Case Oct. 26, 1886 466,184 Pumyea Dec. 29, 1891 1,167,745 Decker Jan. 11, 1916 1,427,252 Appleby Aug. 29, 1922 2,138,933 Moseley Dec. 6, 1938 FOREIGN' PATENTS Number Country Date 698,605 France Nov. 28, 1930 

